Delivery Process Attributes, Common to India and the U.s., for More Sustainable Buildings

India is a rapidly developing nation, so its adoption of sustainable building would have considerable social, environmental, and economic benefits. However, process attributes that contribute to successful delivery (planning, design, construction and operation) of sustainable buildings in India are largely undefined. Other projects in India would benefit from a rigorous identification of these process attributes, which is the purpose of this research. This research applies process mapping to study the delivery of Soundarya Decorator's factory building in Chennai, India; a project which achieved advanced sustainability performance with no first cost increase. From these process maps, process attributes are identified and compared to those identified in a previously published study of Toyota's South Campus facility in Torrance, California. Process attributes common to both projects include: demonstrating an early commitment to sustainability by key stakeholders; setting goals related to sustainability, not certification; continuously educating project stakeholders on sustainability; aligning sustainable features with business objectives; encouraging project team “buy-in” to sustainability goals; and investing design time to consider alternative sustainable solutions.